Communication devices such as personal computers, wireless mobile telephones, personal data assistants, etc. often provide data communication abilities to users. One currently popular form of such communication is Instant Messaging (IM) facilitated by an application having a graphical user interface (GUI) whereby two or more users of different communication devices can engage in a conversational data communication exchange.
To permit IM message exchanges, a user may invite another to agree to receive IM messages and be included in the user's list of IM contacts (sometimes called an IM friend or buddy in view of the agreement to be a potential IM message recipient). The availability of the user or particular contacts for conversations may be maintained in accordance with respective presence information. To begin an IM conversation, a user selects a buddy represented by a contact list entry of a list of contacts and inputs a message. Additional contacts may be invited to engage in a group message, as desired. While IM messaging was originally directed to text, newer protocols support file transports and voice over data communications.
In addition to conducting conversations, an IM user may invite a buddy to engage in an on-line game where two (or more) players take turns during game play to compete against each other. Conventional board and card games such as checkers or poker may be adapted for IM game playing for example, among others. A game may be invoked via a game application interface or from within an IM application providing an interface to a game application.
A user may play more than one game at a time or play a game in a non-linear manner, leaving a game interface to perform other tasks such as email, calendar review, etc. Thus it is desirable to provide an interface to games in progress.
A solution to one or more of these needs is therefore desired.